Apartment woes: Mouse sighting. Should I be worried?

[Tort-time]

So its cold and despite 3 years here with no 'unwelcome visitors' I just had a mouse sighting, went under my bed and start scratching, and as I type this It ran back to the other side of the apt (Its a studio apartment shaped like a U)

I can't lie, I'm not a fan of the unwelcome mice. I realize they are not an abnormal sighting in an urban New England apartment but it still makes me squeek a little.

So my main question is, how worried should I be about my Russian tortoise. She has an enclosure about the size of a twin bed, but it rests directly on the floor. Sides are about a ft or so high, lined with textured contact paper on the outside. Could this new roommate get in her enclosure? Would it harm her?

This may be a silly question but I can deal with my freak out but can't quite fall back to sleep worrying about Zoya pants getting injured or sick my this mouse.

thoughts?

Thanks in advance. Totally exhausted but have been up worrying about this.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. If it were me, I would set snap traps. There is a possibility that the mouse could chew on your Russian. Not real good for you too live with them too. They pee on just about everything and can get inside cupboards and draws.

 

[ascott]

yeah, find where it is making entry and deal with that and if the critter has to be relocated/ridded of then you may want to do that...they are unhealthy....

 

[bouaboua]

Sticky traps with a bit of peanut butter in the center worked well for me. You can get them in Home depot or Lowe's.

 

[Tom]

Don't worry. Instead, eliminate the problem.

 

[Tort-time]

Hi Everyone! Sorry to post with no intro, hello and what not. It was a late night panic moment. So Hi!

thanks so much for the replies. had enough time in old buildings in new England to know that mice in the winter happen. Definitely going to try and figure out where its getting in. I live in an in-law attachment type studio apt .. think this was once a garage.. attached to a house built in the 1800s hah. I'm thinking the house has a few entry points in general.

Anyway, my big concern was the potential the mouse could get into the tortoise enclosure. It may have been my sleep addled brain that imagined it could climb up and over the side hah. As Zoya (my russian) has grown I increased the size of her enclosure and due to space issues it sits right on the ground. I'm also a little over protective hah

Definitely plan to take care of the problem and look for the source. Just had a moment of worry for Zoya's immediate safety... thanks for reassuring me that getting it taken care of in the next day or two is ok and I'm just being a little crazy

As an aside, I had a terrible experience with sticky traps in an old apartment. Poor thing squealed and chewed off one of its legs. I still have nightmares. I'll have to go with snap traps. I get ridiculously squimish when dealing with this sorta thing. Growing up in Florida I dealt with roaches and other crazy things that you will encounter no matter how clean you are. Mice are better and worse. hah.

Thanks again!

Nicole

 

[Moozillion]

I agree that the sticky traps are cruel. Like them or not, the mouse is trapped and knows it. They die slowly of dehydration worsened by terror. The snap traps at least kill them quickly and humanely as possible, IMHO.

 

[biochemnerd808]

I would set up snap traps - they are quick and you can just throw the dead mouse in the garbage. Peanut butter and raising squished together works well. Last year we had several mice that entered under the sink from the subfloor, and one of them learned how to 'hack' the traps, getting the food without making them snap. So we went for as sticky as possible...

Our local reptile rescue had a little sulcata that had an eye chewed out by a mouse (long story - the owner actually placed the live mouse in the tank with the tortoise as a 'feeder' for it - eek), so without wanting to create panic, I would definitely trap the mouse and its friends and cousins!